Priest recipient of next week’s Medal of Honor subject of new book

April 3, 2013

Fr. Emil Kapaun’s incredible story now available

ATLANTA, April 3, 2013 – Fr. Emil Kapaun will receive the Medal of Honor from the President of the United States next Thursday at the White House, nearly 60 years after he heroically gave his life in the Korean War. The Vatican is also considering him a possible candidate for Sainthood.

And today, his life, service and hero’s death is the subject of an incredible new book, THE MIRACLE OF FATHER KAPAUN, published by Ignatius Press. One of the most remarkable aspects of his story surrounds the atypical movement of support for both his sainthood cause and his Medal of Honor award. The witnesses to both his sanctity and his bravery have come from non-Catholics, men of Jewish faith, Muslim faith and Protestant tradition, who served with Fr. Kapaun in battle or in the brutality of conditions where he drew his last breath – a prisoner of war camp. They have spent years petitioning the Vatican to elevate him to Sainthood because of what they witnessed on the battlefield.

In tracking down the amazing story of Fr. Kapaun first for the Wichita Eagle newspaper, authors Roy Wenzl and Travis Heying uncovered a paradox. Kapaun’s ordinary background as the son of Czech immigrant farmers sowed the seeds of his greatness. This is a true patriot’s story. Says author Roy Wenzl, “Kapaun’s friends do not consider themselves experts on miracles, but they know what they saw, and as far as they are concerned, the man himself was something like a miracle. By the time we talked to most of them, the secretary of the Army and the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff had learned enough about the already decorated U.S. Army captain to recommend him, posthumously, for the highest military honor in the United States. The Pentagon is in the business of declaring war heroes, not saints. But to many of Kapaun’s eyewitnesses, they amount to the same thing.”

To schedule interviews with the authors, or to receive a review copy, please contact Kevin Wandra (404-788-1276 or KWandra@CarmelCommunications.com) of Carmel Communications.

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